Two is Better Than One
by twototangolover
Summary: The flock is up against their biggest enemy yet. After Max's voice puts her in a sticky situation, she almost loses hope in trying to save the world. But after a new addition to the flock, will they manage to defeat the new enemy?
1. Chapter 1

**So, this story takes place after the book Max. Sorry for the short chapters. Most of them will probably be like this. I already have the first thirty chapters written, and I'm barely half-way through the story, so I'm going post like a chapter a day or something in case I get writers block later on. Hope you enjoy!**

WHAM! I delivered another powerful roundhouse kick to my attacker. I glanced over my shoulder to the right to see my best friend also dealing out punches and roundhouse kicks. He had a black eye and his clothes were torn and blood spattered. Fang. My right hand man. On my left I could see the rest of my family fighting off M-Geeks left and right like there was no tomorrow.

We had fought these.. things before, but it had been a while and we were a bit out of practice. They had snuck up on us again and insisted on creating trouble. The thing about M-Geeks is that they aren't exactly human. They look like humans alright, but on the inside they're actually robots. Evil robots that even eviler people had created. They had only one purpose. To kill me. And they wouldn't stop until the job was done.

My attention was brought back to the fight when another M-Geek's fist grazed my cheek. I growled. Now I was mad. I kicked at its trim little ankle and heard a satisfying snap. Then I brought both hands down over its head in a chopping motion, splitting its head like a sectioned orange.

Suddenly a thought pierced my mind. _Max, I'm scared. There's too many of them, let's just get out of here._ At first I tensed up when I heard my name, but then I relaxed when I heard it was only Angel's voice_. _I glanced over at her and nodded in defeat. I glanced quickly at Fang and he too nodded in agreement. We were seriously outnumbered this time.

"Up and away!" I shouted over the loud noise of the battlefield. There was just no way we could win this fight. I got a running start and then snapped out my wings.

**Oh wow.. this is a lot shorter than how it looked in Word. Oh well.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! This one turned out to be a bit longer. **

As we gained altitude I did a silent head-check to make sure everyone had made it out in one piece. When all seven of us were accounted for I relaxed and took a deep breath. God, flying is amazing. I shook out my stiff shoulders and closed my eyes, feeling the cool breeze on my cheeks. I pushed my matted hair out of my face, reminding myself that I hadn't had a shower in about a week. Life on the run was tough.

"They'll be back, won't they?" said Nudge, bringing me back to the harsh reality of my life. It was more of a statement. There was no doubt in my mind that they would most definitely be back. We would always be on the run. Always hunted. Always fighting. We were freaks of nature, and someone always wanted us dead. I silently nodded as I looked up at her. Her brown, tawny wings were glowing warmly in the late afternoon light and she had a discouraged look on her face.

You see, that is the one thing the "thoughtful" scientists back at the School had given us. Wings. Yes, actual wings. Not to be boastful or anything, but my wings kick butt. They are a deep, dark brown, but they also have lighter feathers with speckles on them. Fang has black wings, Angel has pure white wings, and Iggy's wings are a creamy strawberry blond color that perfectly matches his hair. The Gasman's wings are a light shade of blond, and Total, our Canine American friend, has black wings. He just recently sprouted them, and won't quit boasting about them to Akila, the Alaskan Malamute who he met and fell madly in love with when we were on the Wendy K. in Ant-freaking-artica. If you've been keeping up with our crazy adventures you should already know all this. Besides, if I'm going to take the time to write these things down, the least you could do is listen to it.

"Where to?" I asked. My flock was unusually quiet. Maybe it was because lately our lives seemed to take on the role of a video game where you only have so many lives left. Forget I said that. It was a bad analogy. A quite depressing and very true analogy.

"Somewhere with food. Lots and lots of food," Gazzy said. He rubbed his stomach, and suddenly his face lit up. "Somewhere that'll have a nice, big, juicy double-cheeseburger."

"Mmmm… I could go for one of those right now," Total said, in agreement.

"While that sounds delicious and all, we still have a slight problem," I said, not afraid to rain on their parade. "Seeing as we're currently in the middle of the desert, I don't think there are going to be many fast food joints in this neck of the woods." I laughed at my cliché. God, I wished we could find some shade. We had only been flying for a half an hour and I was already getting dizzy from the heat.

"I think I hear people over there," Angel said, pointing to a place that was slightly off the course we were flying on. These were the times that I'm glad we're different. No, Angel doesn't have super sonic hearing, but she can read peoples minds. And send thoughts to other people. She can even _control_ people's minds. Hello? We're talking about a six year old here! She can also talk to fish, and breathe underwater. Talk about hitting the genetic jackpot!

All of us have special "abilities." Nudge can draw metal towards her and hack any computer or technical device you throw at her. She's about eleven years old. Gazzy can imitate any sound with 100% accuracy. His other skill is unmentionable. He's somewhere around eight. Iggy can feel colors, Fang can disappear into whatever background he's near, and I can fly faster than the others. I also have a voice in my head. But that's something I don't like to talk about. All three of us are approximately fourteen, give or take. And then there's Total. He is a quite annoying, talking dog with wings, to put it simply.

Silently we changed course. All of us but one. "Ig, change course 35 degrees left," I said.

"Huh, what?" Iggy said, gazing in my general direction. I was used to this. He was blind.

"We're changing course," I said, "Normally you don't need me to tell you that."

"Oh," he said.

"Something wrong?" I asked, after flying a few minutes in silence.

"No," he said. He looked thoughtful.

We flew in silence again. I wondered what was up with him. He never acted like this. As we started to reach the outskirts of the small town he asked, "What town is this?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we're about two or three hours away from my mom's house."

"We should go back to visit after we find someplace to eat," he said.

"Yeah, we should," I said, starting to fly lower and lower, liking the idea of seeing my mom again. As we neared the ground it hit me. It was Ella.


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh yeah.. Forgot to do a disclaimer in the first chapter, but is that really necessary? We all know Max belongs to JP. Not me.**

When we landed on the rocky ground I threw a glance over to Angel and silently asked in my head what I really didn't want to know. _Is it Ella?_

_I know she's your sister Max, but he really likes her._

_So?_ I tried to hide the edge in my voice, but it was hard to. I had noticed the last time we had visited my mom that he had paid extra close attention to her. It made me want to gag when he made those googly eyes at her. I mean, she was my sister, after all. Just call me the protective older sibling.

_She likes him too._

My eyes widened and Fang gave me a confused look. I nodded my head in Angel's direction, and his expression softened, realizing I was just talking to Angel. But jeez, I wasn't expecting what she had told me.

_I didn't expect it either, Max. The last time we were at your mom's house they were both trying really hard not to think about it._

Trying not to think about what? I panicked. What was going on between them? Was this serious?

_No, Max. Nothing's happened between them. Just be happy for them._

My mind still wasn't at ease, but I did feel better. Angel must have picked up on that, as she didn't respond to my thoughts until we reached the nearest burger-joint.

We all stood gathered around behind the building. I ran my fingers through my hair a few times to try and loosen some of the knots and tangles. It didn't work. I looked over at Fang. His black hair was also matted and dirty.

"Ange, you're just going to have to work your magic on these people if something goes wrong," I said, giving up with my hair. I normally don't let her do this, but at times like these, I will do anything for some food.

Fang and I threw on hoodies to cover our wings, and then we made our way around to the front of the building. When we walked into the building, I could feel everyone was staring at us. Nothing out of the ordinary.

After I had finished rattling off our huge order, the cashier scoffed. "And exactly how many are you planning on feeding?" he asked. "This can't all be for you."

"Our youth group is waiting outside in our van," I lied with a polite smile. I've gotten so good at lying these days that I don't even have to try.

After everything was wrung up and put in carry out bags, I pulled out my wallet, afraid to hear how much this was going to cost. "Oh, don't worry about it," he said, waving his hand. "It's on the house."

My eyes widened in surprise, and then I realized that Angel had interfered. Oh man, she was going to get it. Still slightly dumbstruck, we grabbed the bags and quickly headed back to our flock.

We took off into the air to find a safe place to eat. When we were airborne I glared over at Angel and said, "What did you do that for?"

"Hey, it's free food!" she said in defense.

"Yeah well, to some people it's called stealing." I said narrowing my eyes at her. "We're still on the run, remember?" I lowered my voice, and tried to smile at her. "Just don't do it again."

"I won't," she said quietly.

**So what do you guys think so far? I know the chapters are kind of short, but that's probably how most of them will be.**


	4. Chapter 4

It didn't take long for us to scarf down the food, and soon we were in the air again, headed for my mom's house. I just prayed that no one was following us. The last thing that I wanted was to harm my mom and my half-sister Ella. They were the only real family I knew, and I wasn't about to lose them.

As we neared their house about two hours later, I noticed a goofy grin spread across Iggy's face. Angry thoughts began to cloud my head, and I felt hot tears building up behind my eyes. What was wrong with me? I never cry. Ever. Was I jealous or something? Why would I be jealous of them? Ok, so maybe I was a little jealous that Ig could get a girl, but why should I be? I have Fang. I think.

_Max, stop second-guessing yourself. Fang loves you. And you know that. Just talk to him._

But I don't want to talk to him, I thought to myself. Every time I start to think about Fang, I forget about everything else. Every time I try and figure things out, I become even more confused. And every time we try and talk things out face to face he always ends up kissing me, which confuses me even more. Suddenly realizing that Angel was still probably listening to my thoughts, I quickly blocked the image of these memories.

_It's okay, Max. I've heard worse before. I've learned to just tune it out. Besides, you should be able to enjoy those memories and not have to worry about me hearing. I'll leave you alone to think now._

Man, has she grown up a lot in the past few months. But I guess that's something to be expected when you can read people's minds. It's hard to believe sometimes that she's only like six and a half. Well, give or take.

We made huge sweeping circles lower and lower when the house came into view. We arced our bodies, and hit the ground running. That stupid, goofy grin still hadn't left Iggy's face. I rolled my eyes at him, even though I knew he wouldn't see. Fang did. I shot him an I'll-explain-later look. He nodded his head in agreement, and we slowly made our way to the house. I've always loved how Fang and I can talk without saying a thing.

Before we were even halfway to the porch, the screen door was flung open. Out came Ella, running blindly for, you guessed it, Iggy. Right behind her was my mom. She ran for me and wrapped me in a tight hug. And I swear I caught the sent of freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies. My favorite.


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again, sorry for the short chapters. **

When I stepped out of the shower that night, I shook my hair like a dog and then wrapped a big fluffy towel around myself. As I stepped in front of the full length mirror I noticed that my hair had gotten really long in the last couple months. It's a light shade of brown and was uneven in length. Usually I just hack it off with a knife when it gets too long. If you've been keeping up, you already know that I've only ever had one real haircut in my life.

Right now it almost reached my waist. Time for a major haircut, I thought. I played with it for a second or two in the mirror, realizing that it actually looked kind of good long. But looking good and being practical were two very different things. Practical has always been the better choice in my life. So I rummaged around in the drawers, looking for a pair of scissors.

_Don't cut your hair, Max._ I almost jumped at the sound of Angel's voice.

_And why shouldn't I_? Honestly, it was _my_ hair for crying out loud.

_Your mom is thinking about taking us into town tomorrow to get hair cuts and new clothes_.

I fingered my hair again, and then looked at the scissors that I held in my hands. _Only you would know that, Ange. And I guess I could wait.._

_Good. _The room was silent for a moment, except for the low, constant hum of the air conditioner. And then she was in my head again. _Besides, Fang likes your hair the way it is._

_You know I don't care what Fang thinks of my hair. _These were the times that I hated that she could get in my head.

_Yes you do, and you know it. _And with that, she left me without a comeback. I put the scissors back where I found them, and still clutching the towel around me, I opened the bathroom door that led to my bedroom. I shuffled around my bed to my closet to get a comfy pair of sweats. Suddenly, Fang appeared out of nowhere, lying on my bed, with an amused look on his face.

God, I hate how he can disappear into the background and then scare the living daylights out of you when he reappears. I glared at him and clutched the towel tighter to my chest.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked angrily, trying not to raise my voice and attract unneeded attention.

"I just wanted to talk," he said, raising his hands and giving me an I-didn't-expect-this-would-happen look.

I couldn't find any words, so I just kept glaring at him.

"What happened to your tan?" he asked, changing the subject.

"That was dirt!" I yelled, as I grabbed my clothes and made a bee-line for my bathroom.

**So.. Let me know what you think so far. You know you want to tell me (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**oooh, switching it up a little.**

Iggy's POV

_I love my life_, I thought to myself for the millionth time that night. Nothing could ruin being with Ella. Not Nudge's motor-mouth. And definitely not Total's constant whining. No, this night would be perfect. Every minute of it.

_Slow down, you're getting ahead of yourself, Ig._

Angel's annoying voice filled my head, bringing me back from cloud nine.

_Shut up, Angel. Can't you stay out of my head for just one night?_

_Not if you keep thinking about what you have been for the past five hours. Jeez, I'm only six. I swear sometimes that you people forget that I can read minds._

_It's none of your business what's in my head, Angel. So just leave me alone for once. _I could feel my blood starting to boil and I clenched a fist. I must have had a pretty angry expression on my face because Ella laid a hand over mine in a comforting manner.

"What's wrong, Ig?" Ella asked, giving my hand a little squeeze. We were cuddled up on the living room couch, sitting so close that it probably made everyone else uncomfortable. Which is probably why they had left the room hours ago.

"Nothing," I told her, "Angel's just in my head, and she won't get out."

"Oh," she said.

"Sometimes I wish that we were all just normal kids, with normal lives."

"But then you wouldn't be you," she said in that sweet voice that I love so much.

"So what, you're saying that you _like_ the blind, freak-of-nature bird kid that I am?"

"You wouldn't be you if you weren't." She sounded like she was smiling. What I wouldn't give to see her smile. Just once.

It was silent for a while, and we just sat there, just enjoying each other's presence. I was glad that Angel was staying out of my head. At least for the time being.


	7. Chapter 7

Iggy's POV

"Lights out at midnight!" Max's mom yelled from the kitchen. I must have dosed off, even though everything was still pitch black, like usual. Sometimes, I wondered if it mattered whether my eyes were open or not. It really didn't make any difference. I also wished sometimes that we were back in Antarctica. When we were there on our whole save the world campaign, I had discovered that I could see. But only with the complete absence of color.

Max's theory was that I can see _whiteness. _For the first time, I could see cliffs and glaciers, and even people. That is, when they stood in front of the whiteness. I wished I could see Ella right now, as she was cuddled up against me, sound asleep. I knew she was wearing a purple shirt, and a khaki skirt. I knew she had long brown hair and brown eyes, like Max. I could feel the exact tone of her skin. But I couldn't see all of those things put together. And that's what bothered me the most.

As soon as I thought that I was alone in my head, Angel had to rear her ugly head. Even after several years of her reading my mind, I will never get used to it.

_Ig, you know we've all been getting new abilities recently. Who knows, maybe you'll get your sight back._

Yeah, that'll be the day. I've hoped every single day of my life that my sight would just suddenly come back. And every day of my life, I've woken up to disappointment and darkness. I longed to see the mountains in Antarctica again. Even if it meant having to freeze my feathers off.

As I sat there, lost in my thoughts, I felt that my arm was asleep. When I moved it to relieve the pressure, Ella woke up.

"What time is it?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"I'm the blind guy, remember?" I joked, with a slight sound of annoyance in my voice. I felt her shift around on the couch. Probably to look at the clock.

"It's ten 'til midnight," she said.

"Well, you missed the lights out at midnight call," I said, starting to stand up.

"We still have ten minutes," Ella said, pulling me back down. I could feel her moving closer to me. Darn my blindness. Just for once, I wished I could see. I could feel her warm breath just inches from my face.

I let her lean in and kiss me gently on the lips. It felt so good. I was almost disappointed when it was over. Before she had time to pull away I returned the kiss. I knew that at any moment Angel would probably be in my head, ready to make fun of me, but for once she kept her distance. _Nothing can ruin this night_, I thought once more as Ella kissed me again. This time it felt like it lasted forever.

But in this house, forever only lasts so long.


	8. Chapter 8

Max's POV

I had been sitting on the edge of my bathtub for almost a half an hour, thinking about Fang and myself. What the heck was going on between us? Everything felt so wishy-washy all of a sudden. And why the heck did I suddenly like it when he kissed me? Curse these stupid teenage, bird kid hormones.

I took a deep breath, counted to ten, and opened the bathroom door. Fang was still lying on my bed. Although now he was reading something. It looked like one of Ella's fashion magazines. I tried not to let it show that I thought that this was probably one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen in my life, but when our eyes met I could feel the heat began to rise to my cheeks from my all too recent most embarrassing moment ever.

"I'll be right back," I said, avoiding eye contact, as I quickly left the room and made my way downstairs to the kitchen. I would never get used to this new house. Ever since my mom had realized that I was alive and that I was her daughter, she and Jeb had purchased a humongous house near Phoenix, Arizona. Every single member of the flock had gotten their own room and bathroom. It was a bit ridiculous though. I mean, we never stay more than a week in the same place. You would have thought that of all people, they would have known that.

But right now I wasn't about to complain. It felt kind of nice to be living in comfort. Especially when comfort used to be the last thing on my mind. I so wished that the flock and I could stay here all the time. But since I knew that would be impractical, I wasn't looking forward to breaking the younger kid's hearts. Sometimes they just didn't understand the concept of constantly being on the run. And apparently, neither did Iggy.

When I walked through the archway that led to the kitchen and living room, and saw them tangled up on the couch, I stopped dead and my eyes bugged out of my head. I began to feel hot anger building up in my veins. I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to calm myself down. It didn't work.

How could he do this? Doesn't he know we'll probably have to leave in a few days? And then I'm going to have to listen to him mope around until the next time we come back here. And who even knows when that will be. The only thing they would get out of this was broken hearts. And I wasn't about to let that happen. I cared about both of them too much to subject them to that kind of pain.

I let all emotion drain from my face and crossed my arms and cleared my throat loudly. They didn't budge. God, it was hard just to look at them. It sort of reminded me of Fang and I. But I quickly dismissed the thought as soon as it ran through my head, reminding myself that he was still waiting upstairs for me.

"What the heck is going on down here?" I asked, putting emphasis on every word. I kept my voice flat and monotone.

When they heard my voice, Ella jumped off of Iggy, and practically fell to the floor, with a panicked look on her face. I suppressed the urge to laugh. They were both speechless and looked at me with sheepish faces. I rolled my eyes at them and said, "You two are supposed to be in bed."

Without anything else having to be said, they got up and started whispering as they walked up the stairs. My raptor hearing still served me well. "Preferably in _different_ beds," I added. Jeez, I hadn't realized until now how we were all of a sudden growing up so fast.

I stood where I was for about a minute, unsure of what I had actually come down here for. I guess I really hadn't come down here for anything at all. I shook my head and sighed. I decided to grab two cans of Coke out of the fridge and then followed Iggy and Ella upstairs. I still wasn't ready to talk to Fang. But I guess you can't avoid the inevitable.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm back," I said, stating the obvious, as I walked back into my room.

"I can see that," Fang said with a smile. He was silent for a moment before asking, "So. What was going on downstairs?"

"Ugh," I said in disgust. "I walked in on Iggy and Ella's love fest on the couch." I threw him one of the sodas and he skillfully caught it.

"And that bothers you?" he asked, popping open the soda and downing it in one swig.

"Well, yeah," I said, sitting down next to him on the bed. "I mean, she's my sister, and Ig is like a brother to me. It's kind of weird." I sat my unopened soda on the floor. Suddenly it's bubbly contents didn't sound so appealing sloshing around in my jittery stomach.

"Well, isn't that the way the rest of the flock sees us?"

Oh no, here comes all of the mushy, gushy, emotion crapola that I just _love_. Sarcasm completely intended.

"Well, I guess you could look at it like that," I said after a long silence.

"So that means you _do_ think there's something between us," he said with satisfaction.

Crap. He tricked me. Now what was I supposed to say. I mean, I did really like him. And I definitely did feel something between us. But man, I was at a complete loss of words. So I just settled on nodding my head yes.

"That's all I get? Just a measly head nod?" he asked, wearing that crooked smile that I loved so much. Oh, God. Someone please slap me the next time I get all mushy gushy. I was supposed to be a lean mean fighting machine. Not a love-struck bird kid who was high on hormones.

I looked him in the eye for one too-short moment before letting out a long sigh. How could I ever tell him that I was scared to death right now? Yes, even though I've had to face imminent death almost every day of the past fourteen years of my life, you could safely say that I was scared to bits right now. And I wasn't even sure why.

Maybe it's the way he grins at me whenever I smile. Or maybe it's the way that we can have a whole conversation without even saying a thing. Maybe it's the feeling I get after we kiss. That feeling of euphoria, and then the feeling of sheer terror when I feel the need to run away. I didn't want to run away anymore. And I think that was what scared me the most.


End file.
